Clinton is scheduled to join other activists Friday for a discussion on the need for a global community and how younger generations can achieve it.

Students apply to the conference and are required to craft measureable plans to tackle problems on their campuses or around the world. Grants totaling $750,000 will be available to help students pursue their plans.

More than 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students are expected to participate in the event at Northeastern’s campus near downtown Boston from Friday through Sunday.

Topics being discussed this year include hurricane and disaster response, the opioid epidemic, relief for refugees and violence against women.

Other speakers include Chelsea Clinton, daughter of the former president and vice chairwoman of the Clinton Foundation, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Chelsea Clinton is scheduled to explore how social media and technology have transformed modern life, while Albright will discuss ways to help refugees get training and capital to become entrepreneurs.

Bill and Chelsea Clinton will also join Boston Mayor Marty Walsh on Sunday to lead students in a day of volunteering in the city.

This is the first year hosting the conference for Northeastern, a private university that enrolls about 20,000 students. Last year’s gathering host was the University of California, Berkeley.

Former President Clinton created the university conference in 2007 as an extension of his Clinton Global Initiative, a similar program for world leaders.

Organizers say students have won nearly $3 million in funding for their projects since 2008 in areas including education, climate change, poverty alleviation, human rights and public health.